Integrated LIDAR Illumination Power Control

ABSTRACT

Methods and systems for performing three dimensional LIDAR measurements with an integrated LIDAR measurement device are described herein. In one aspect, a Gallium Nitride (GaN) based illumination driver integrated circuit (IC), an illumination source, and a return signal receiver IC are mounted to a common substrate. The illumination driver IC provides a pulse of electrical power to the illumination source in response to a pulse trigger signal received from the return signal receiver IC. In another aspect, the GaN based illumination driver IC controls the amplitude, ramp rate, and duration of the pulse of electrical power based on command signals communicated from the return signal receiver IC to the illumination driver IC. In a further aspect, illumination driver IC reduces the amount of electrical power consumed by the illumination driver IC during periods of time when the illumination driver IC is not providing electrical power to the illumination source.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

The present application for patent is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 15/941,302, entitled “Integrated LIDAR IlluminationPower Control,” filed Mar. 30, 2018, which claims priority under 35U.S.C. §119 from U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No.62/480,119, entitled “Integrated LIDAR Illumination Power Control,”filed Mar. 31, 2017, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein byreference in their entireties.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The described embodiments relate to LIDAR based 3-D point cloudmeasuring systems.

BACKGROUND

LIDAR systems employ pulses of light to measure distance to an objectbased on the time of flight (TOF) of each pulse of light. A pulse oflight emitted from a light source of a LIDAR system interacts with adistal object. A portion of the light reflects from the object andreturns to a detector of the LIDAR system. Based on the time elapsedbetween emission of the pulse of light and detection of the returnedpulse of light, a distance is estimated. In some examples, pulses oflight are generated by a laser emitter. The light pulses are focusedthrough a lens or lens assembly. The time it takes for a pulse of laserlight to return to a detector mounted near the emitter is measured. Adistance is derived from the time measurement with high accuracy.

Some LIDAR systems employ a single laser emitter/detector combinationcombined with a rotating mirror to effectively scan across a plane.Distance measurements performed by such a system are effectively twodimensional (i.e., planar), and the captured distance points arerendered as a 2-D (i.e. single plane) point cloud. In some examples,rotating mirrors are rotated at very fast speeds (e.g., thousands ofrevolutions per minute).

In many operational scenarios, a 3-D point cloud is required. A numberof schemes have been employed to interrogate the surrounding environmentin three dimensions. In some examples, a 2-D instrument is actuated upand down and/or back and forth, often on a gimbal. This is commonlyknown within the art as “winking” or “nodding” the sensor. Thus, asingle beam LIDAR unit can be employed to capture an entire 3-D array ofdistance points, albeit one point at a time. In a related example, aprism is employed to “divide” the laser pulse into multiple layers, eachhaving a slightly different vertical angle. This simulates the noddingeffect described above, but without actuation of the sensor itself.

In all the above examples, the light path of a single laseremitter/detector combination is somehow altered to achieve a broaderfield of view than a single sensor. The number of pixels such devicescan generate per unit time is inherently limited due limitations on thepulse repetition rate of a single laser. Any alteration of the beampath, whether it is by mirror, prism, or actuation of the device thatachieves a larger coverage area comes at a cost of decreased point clouddensity.

As noted above, 3-D point cloud systems exist in several configurations.However, in many applications it is necessary to see over a broad fieldof view. For example, in an autonomous vehicle application, the verticalfield of view should extend down as close as possible to see the groundin front of the vehicle. In addition, the vertical field of view shouldextend above the horizon, in the event the car enters a dip in the road.In addition, it is necessary to have a minimum of delay between theactions happening in the real world and the imaging of those actions. Insome examples, it is desirable to provide a complete image update atleast five times per second. To address these requirements, a 3-D LIDARsystem has been developed that includes an array of multiple laseremitters and detectors. This system is described in U.S. Pat. No.7,969,558 issued on Jun. 28, 2011, the subject matter of which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

In many applications, a sequence of pulses is emitted. The direction ofeach pulse is sequentially varied in rapid succession. In theseexamples, a distance measurement associated with each individual pulsecan be considered a pixel, and a collection of pixels emitted andcaptured in rapid succession (i.e., “point cloud”) can be rendered as animage or analyzed for other reasons (e.g., detecting obstacles). In someexamples, viewing software is employed to render the resulting pointclouds as images that appear three dimensional to a user. Differentschemes can be used to depict the distance measurements as 3-D imagesthat appear as if they were captured by a live action camera.

Some existing LIDAR systems employ an illumination source and a detectorthat are not integrated together onto a common substrate (e.g.,electrical mounting board). Furthermore, the illumination beam path andthe collection beam path are separated within the LIDAR device. Thisleads to opto-mechanical design complexity and alignment difficulty.

In addition, mechanical devices employed to scan the illumination beamsin different directions may be sensitive to mechanical vibrations,inertial forces, and general environmental conditions. Without properdesign these mechanical devices may degrade leading to loss ofperformance or failure.

To measure a 3D environment with high resolution and high throughput,the measurement pulses must be very short. Current systems suffer fromlow resolution because they are limited in their ability to generateshort duration pulses.

Saturation of the detector limits measurement capability as targetreflectivity and proximity vary greatly in realistic operatingenvironments. In addition, power consumption may cause overheating ofthe LIDAR system. Light devices, targets, circuits, and temperaturesvary in actual systems. The variability of all of these elements limitssystem performance without proper calibration of the photon output ofeach LIDAR device.

Improvements in the illumination drive electronics and receiverelectronics of LIDAR systems are desired to improve imaging resolutionand range.

SUMMARY

Methods and systems for performing three dimensional LIDAR measurementswith an integrated LIDAR measurement device are described herein.

In one aspect, an illumination driver of a LIDAR measurement device is aGaN based integrated circuit (IC) that selectively couples anillumination source to a source of electrical power to generate ameasurement pulse of illumination light in response to a pulse triggersignal. The GaN based illumination driver includes field effecttransistors (FETs) that offer higher current density than conventionalsilicon based complementary metal oxide on silicon (CMOS) devices. As aresult the GaN based illumination driver is able to deliver relativelylarge currents to an illumination source with significantly less powerloss.

In a further aspect, a return pulse receiver IC receives a pulse commandsignal from a master controller and communicates the pulse triggersignal to the illumination driver IC in response to the pulse commandsignal. The pulse trigger signal also triggers data acquisition of thereturn signal and associated time of flight calculation by the returnpulse receiver IC. In this manner, the pulse trigger signal generatedbased on the internal clock of receiver IC is employed to trigger bothpulse generation and return pulse data acquisition. This ensures precisesynchronization of pulse generation and return pulse acquisition whichenables precise time of flight calculations by time-to-digitalconversion.

In another further aspect, the return pulse receiver IC measures time offlight based on the time elapsed between the detection of a pulse due tointernal cross-talk between the illumination source and thephotodetector of the integrated LIDAR measurement device and a validreturn pulse. In this manner, systematic delays are eliminated from theestimation of time of flight.

In another aspect, the illumination driver IC includes a number ofdifferent FETs configured to control the current flow through theillumination source. Moreover, the number of FETs coupled to theillumination source is selectable based on a digital FET selectionsignal. In some embodiments, the FET selection signal is communicatedfrom the return pulse receiver IC to the illumination driver IC.

In another aspect, the illumination driver IC includes a power savecontrol module that modulates the power supplied to a portion of thecircuitry of the illumination driver IC to reduce power consumption. Inoperation, the illumination driver IC spends a relatively short amountof time generating a measurement pulse and a relatively long amount oftime waiting for a trigger signal to generate the next measurementpulse. During these idle periods, the illumination driver IC reduces oreliminates power supplied to circuit components that do not need to beactive for the entire waiting period.

In another aspect, the illumination driver IC includes a pulseinitiation signal generator that generates a pulse initiation signalbased on the pulse trigger signal. In addition, the illumination driverIC includes a pulse termination signal generator that generates a pulsetermination signal. Together, the pulse initiation signals and the pulsetermination signals directly determine the timing of the pulse generatedby the illumination driver IC. The illumination driver IC generates apulse of programmable duration based on a value of an analog pulse widthcontrol signal received from the return pulse receiver IC. Theillumination driver generates a pulse termination signal having a delayfrom the pulse initiation signal based on the value of the pulse widthcontrol signal.

In another aspect, the illumination driver IC generates a pulse ofprogrammable amplitude based on a value of an analog amplitude controlsignal received from the return pulse receiver IC.

In another aspect, a master controller is configured to generate aplurality of pulse command signals, each communicated to a differentintegrated LIDAR measurement device. Each return pulse receiver ICgenerates a corresponding pulse trigger signal based on the receivedpulse command signal.

The foregoing is a summary and thus contains, by necessity,simplifications, generalizations and omissions of detail; consequently,those skilled in the art will appreciate that the summary isillustrative only and is not limiting in any way. Other aspects,inventive features, and advantages of the devices and/or processesdescribed herein will become apparent in the non-limiting detaileddescription set forth herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a simplified diagram illustrative of one embodiment of a LIDARmeasurement system including at least on integrated LIDAR measurementdevice in at least one novel aspect.

FIG. 2 depicts an illustration of the timing associated with theemission of a measurement pulse from an integrated LIDAR measurementdevice 130 and capture of the returning measurement pulse.

FIG. 3 depicts a simplified diagram illustrative of an illuminationdriver IC in one embodiment.

FIG. 4 depicts a simplified diagram illustrative of an illuminationdriver IC in another embodiment.

FIG. 5 depicts a simplified diagram illustrative of one embodiment of aportion of an illumination driver IC including a power save controlmodule, a pulse initiation signal generator, and a pulse terminationsignal generator.

FIG. 6 depicts an embodiment of a power save control module in furtherdetail.

FIG. 7 depicts an embodiment of a pulse initiation signal generator infurther detail.

FIG. 8 depicts an embodiment of a pulse termination signal generator infurther detail.

FIG. 9 depicts an embodiment of a pulse amplitude control circuit infurther detail.

FIG. 10 depicts a simplified illustration of the changes in theregulated voltage, VREG, generated by a power save control module inresponse to the pulse trigger signal.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrative of an embodiment of a 3-D LIDAR system100 in one exemplary operational scenario.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrative of another embodiment of a 3-D LIDARsystem 10 in one exemplary operational scenario.

FIG. 13 depicts a diagram illustrative of an exploded view of 3-D LIDARsystem 100 in one exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 14 depicts a view of optical elements 116 in greater detail.

FIG. 15 depicts a cutaway view of optics 116 to illustrate the shapingof each beam of collected light 118.

FIG. 16 depicts a flowchart illustrative of a method 300 of performing aLIDAR measurement by an integrated LIDAR measurement device in at leastone novel aspect.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to background examples and someembodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in theaccompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 depicts an LIDAR measurement system 120 in one embodiment. LIDARmeasurement system 120 includes a master controller 190 and one or moreintegrated LIDAR measurement devices 130. An integrated LIDARmeasurement device 130 includes a return signal receiver integratedcircuit (IC), a Gallium Nitride based illumination driver integratedcircuit (IC) 140, an illumination source 160, a photodetector 170, and atrans-impedance amplifier (TIA) 180. Each of these elements is mountedto a common substrate 135 (e.g., printed circuit board) that providesmechanical support and electrical connectivity among the elements.

In addition, in some embodiments, an integrated LIDAR measurement deviceincludes one or more voltage supplies that provide voltage to theelectronic elements mounted to substrate 135 and electrical power to theillumination device 160. As depicted in FIG. 1, integrated LIDARmeasurement device 130 includes a low signal voltage supply 131configured to supply a relatively low voltage across nodes VDD_(LV) 137and VSS 136. In some embodiments, the voltage supplied by voltage supply131 is approximately five volts. This voltage is selected to ensure thatthe voltage supplied at the gates of one or more of the transistors ofillumination driver IC 140 does not exceed the damage threshold. Inaddition, integrated LIDAR measurement device 130 includes a mediumsignal voltage supply 132 configured to supply a voltage across nodesVDD_(MV) 139 and VSS 138 that is higher than the voltage supplied by lowvoltage supply 131. In some embodiments, the voltage supplied by voltagesupply 132 is approximately twelve volts. This voltage is selected toensure fast switching transitions of one or more of the transistors ofillumination driver IC 140. In addition, integrated LIDAR measurementdevice 130 includes a power voltage supply 133 configured to supply avoltage across nodes VDD_(HV) 122 and VSS 121 that is higher than thevoltage supplied by medium voltage supply 132. In some embodiments, thevoltage supplied by voltage supply 133 is approximately fifteen totwenty volts. Voltage supply 133 is configured to supply high current136 (e.g., one hundred amperes, or more) to illumination source 160 thatcauses illumination source 160 to emit a pulse of measurement light.

Although, preferred output voltages have been described herein, ingeneral, supplies 131, 132, and 133 may be configured to supply anysuitable voltage. In addition, the voltage supplies 131, 132, and 133described with reference to FIG. 1 are mounted to substrate 135.However, in general, any of the power supplies described herein may bemounted to a separate substrate and electrically coupled to the variouselements mounted to substrate 135 in any suitable manner. Although powersupplies 131, 132, and 133 are described as voltage supplies withreference to FIG. 1, in general, any electrical power source describedherein may be configured to supply electrical power specified as voltageor current. Hence, any electrical power source described herein as avoltage source or a current source may be contemplated as an equivalentcurrent source or voltage source, respectively.

Illumination source 160 emits a measurement pulse of illumination light162 in response to a pulse of electrical current 136. The illuminationlight 162 is focused and projected onto a particular location in thesurrounding environment by one or more optical elements of the LIDARsystem.

In some embodiments, the illumination source 160 is laser based (e.g.,laser diode). In some embodiments, the illumination source is based onone or more light emitting diodes. In general, any suitable pulsedillumination source may be contemplated.

As depicted in FIG. 1, illumination light 162 emitted from integratedLIDAR measurement device 130 and corresponding return measurement light171 directed toward integrated LIDAR measurement device share a commonoptical path. Integrated LIDAR measurement device 130 includes aphotodetector 170 having an active sensor area 174. As depicted in FIG.1, illumination source 160 is located outside the field of view of theactive area 174 of the photodetector. As depicted in FIG. 1, an overmoldlens 172 is mounted over the photodetector 170. The overmold lens 172includes a conical cavity that corresponds with the ray acceptance coneof return light 171. Illumination light 162 from illumination source 160is injected into the detector reception cone by a fiber waveguide. Anoptical coupler optically couples illumination source 160 with the fiberwaveguide. At the end of the fiber waveguide, a mirror element 161 isoriented at a 45 degree angle with respect to the waveguide to injectthe illumination light 162 into the cone of return light 171. In oneembodiment, the end faces of fiber waveguide are cut at a 45 degreeangle and the end faces are coated with a highly reflective dielectriccoating to provide a mirror surface. In some embodiments, the waveguideincludes a rectangular shaped glass core and a polymer cladding of lowerindex of refraction. In some embodiments, the entire optical assembly isencapsulated with a material having an index of refraction that closelymatches the index of refraction of the polymer cladding. In this manner,the waveguide injects the illumination light 162 into the acceptancecone of return light 171 with minimal occlusion.

The placement of the waveguide within the acceptance cone of the returnlight 171 projected onto the active sensing area 174 of detector 170 isselected to ensure that the illumination spot and the detector field ofview have maximum overlap in the far field.

As depicted in FIG. 1, return light 171 reflected from the surroundingenvironment is detected by photodetector 170. In some embodiments,photodetector 170 is an avalanche photodiode. Photodetector 170generates an output signal 173 that is amplified by an analogtrans-impedance amplifier (TIA) 180. However, in general, theamplification of output signal 173 may include multiple, amplifierstages. In this sense, an analog trans-impedance amplifier is providedby way of non-limiting example, as many other analog signalamplification schemes may be contemplated within the scope of thispatent document. Although TIA 180 is depicted in FIG. 1 as a discretedevice separate from the receiver IC 150, in general, TIA 180 may beintegrated with receiver IC 150. In some embodiments, it is preferableto integrate TIA 180 with receiver IC 150 to save space and reducesignal contamination.

As depicted in FIG. 1, the amplified signal 181 is communicated toreturn signal receiver IC 150. Receiver IC 150 includes timing circuitryand a time-to-digital converter that estimates the time of flight of themeasurement pulse from illumination source 160, to a reflective objectin the three dimensional environment, and back to the photodetector 170.A signal 155 indicative of the estimated time of flight is communicatedto master controller 190 for further processing and communication to auser of the LIDAR measurement system 120. In addition, return signalreceiver IC 150 is configured to digitize segments of the return signal181 that include peak values (i.e., return pulses), and communicatesignals 156 indicative of the digitized segments to master controller190. In some embodiments, master controller 190 processes these signalsegments to identify properties of the detected object. In someembodiments, master controller 190 communicates signals 156 to a user ofthe LIDAR measurement system 120 for further processing.

Master controller 190 is configured to generate a pulse command signal191 that is communicated to receiver IC 150 of integrated LIDARmeasurement device 130. In general, a LIDAR measurement system includesa number of different integrated LIDAR measurement devices 130. In theseembodiments, master controller 190 communicates a pulse command signal191 to each different integrated LIDAR measurement device. In thismanner, master controller 190 coordinates the timing of LIDARmeasurements performed by any number of integrated LIDAR measurementdevices.

Pulse command signal 191 is a digital signal generated by mastercontroller 190. Thus, the timing of pulse command signal 191 isdetermined by a clock associated with master controller 190. In someembodiments, the pulse command signal 191 is directly used to triggerpulse generation by illumination driver IC 140 and data acquisition byreceiver IC 150. However, illumination driver IC 140 and receiver IC 150do not share the same clock as master controller 190. For this reason,precise estimation of time of flight becomes much more computationallytedious when the pulse command signal 191 is directly used to triggerpulse generation and data acquisition.

In one aspect, receiver IC 150 receives pulse command signal 191 andgenerates a pulse trigger signal, V_(TRG) 151, in response to the pulsecommand signal 191. Pulse trigger signal 151 is communicated toillumination driver IC 140 and directly triggers illumination driver IC140 to electrically couple illumination source 160 to power supply 133and generate a pulse of illumination light 162. In addition, pulsetrigger signal 151 directly triggers data acquisition of return signal181 and associated time of flight calculation. In this manner, pulsetrigger signal 151 generated based on the internal clock of receiver IC150 is employed to trigger both pulse generation and return pulse dataacquisition. This ensures precise synchronization of pulse generationand return pulse acquisition which enables precise time of flightcalculations by time-to-digital conversion.

FIG. 2 depicts an illustration of the timing associated with theemission of a measurement pulse from an integrated LIDAR measurementdevice 130 and capture of the returning measurement pulse. As depictedin FIG. 2, a measurement is initiated by the rising edge of pulsetrigger signal 162 generated by receiver IC 150. As depicted in FIGS. 1and 2, an amplified, return signal 181 is received by receiver IC 150.As described hereinbefore, a measurement window (i.e., a period of timeover which collected return signal data is associated with a particularmeasurement pulse) is initiated by enabling data acquisition at therising edge of pulse trigger signal 162. Receiver IC 150 controls theduration of the measurement window, T_(measurement), to correspond withthe window of time when a return signal is expected in response to theemission of a measurement pulse sequence. In some examples, themeasurement window is enabled at the rising edge of pulse trigger signal162 and is disabled at a time corresponding to the time of flight oflight over a distance that is approximately twice the range of the LIDARsystem. In this manner, the measurement window is open to collect returnlight from objects adjacent to the LIDAR system (i.e., negligible timeof flight) to objects that are located at the maximum range of the LIDARsystem. In this manner, all other light that cannot possibly contributeto useful return signal is rejected.

As depicted in FIG. 2, return signal 181 includes three returnmeasurement pulses that correspond with the emitted measurement pulse.In general, signal detection is performed on all detected measurementpulses. Further signal analysis may be performed to identify the closestvalid signal 181B (i.e., first valid instance of the return measurementpulse), the strongest signal, and the furthest valid signal 181C (i.e.,last valid instance of the return measurement pulse in the measurementwindow). Any of these instances may be reported as potentially validdistance measurements by the LIDAR system.

Internal system delays associated with emission of light from the LIDARsystem (e.g., signal communication delays and latency associated withthe switching elements, energy storage elements, and pulsed lightemitting device) and delays associated with collecting light andgenerating signals indicative of the collected light (e.g., amplifierlatency, analog-digital conversion delay, etc.) contribute to errors inthe estimation of the time of flight of a measurement pulse of light.Thus, measurement of time of flight based on the elapsed time betweenthe rising edge of the pulse trigger signal 162 and each valid returnpulse (i.e., 181B and 181C) introduces undesireable measurement error.In some embodiments, a calibrated, pre-determined delay time is employedto compensate for the electronic delays to arrive at a correctedestimate of the actual optical time of flight. However, the accuracy ofa static correction to dynamically changing electronic delays islimited. Although, frequent re-calibrations may be employed, this comesat a cost of computational complexity and may interfere with systemup-time.

In another aspect, receiver IC 150 measures time of flight based on thetime elapsed between the detection of a detected pulse 181A due tointernal cross-talk between the illumination source 160 andphotodetector 170 and a valid return pulse (e.g., 181B and 181C). Inthis manner, systematic delays are eliminated from the estimation oftime of flight. Pulse 181A is generated by internal cross-talk witheffectively no distance of light propagation. Thus, the delay in timefrom the rising edge of the pulse trigger signal and the instance ofdetection of pulse 181A captures captures all of the systematic delaysassociated with illumination and signal detection. By measuring the timeof flight of valid return pulses (e.g., return pulses 181B and 181C)with reference to detected pulse 181A, all of the systematic delaysassociated with illumination and signal detection due to internalcross-talk are eliminated. As depicted in FIG. 2, receiver IC 150estimates the time of flight, TOF₁, associated with return pulse 181Band the time of flight, TOF₂, associated with return pulse 181C withreference to return pulse 181A.

In some embodiments, the signal analysis is performed by receiver IC150, entirely. In these embodiments, signals 155 communicated fromintegrated LIDAR measurement device 130 include an indication of thetime of flight determined by receiver IC 150. In some embodiments,signals 156 include digitized segments of return signal 181 generated byreceiver IC 150. These raw measurement signal segments are processedfurther by one or more processors located on board the 3-D LIDAR system,or external to the 3-D LIDAR system to arrive at another estimate ofdistance, an estimate of one of more physical properties of the detectedobject, or a combination thereof.

In one aspect, an illumination driver of a LIDAR measurement device is aGaN based IC that selectively couples an illumination source to a sourceof electrical power to generate a measurement pulse of illuminationlight in response to a pulse trigger signal. The GaN based illuminationdriver includes field effect transistors (FETs) that offer highercurrent density than conventional silicon based complementary metaloxide on silicon (CMOS) devices. As a result the GaN based illuminationdriver is able to deliver relatively large currents to an illuminationsource with significantly less power loss than a silicon based driver.

As depicted in FIG. 1, illumination driver IC 140 is coupled to avoltage node 121 of power voltage supply 133 and a node of illuminationsource 160. Another node of illumination source 160 is coupled tovoltage node 122 of power voltage supply 133. In response to pulsetrigger signal 151, a field effect transistor (FET) of illuminationdriver IC 140 becomes substantially conductive, and effectively couplesillumination source 160 to node 121. This induces a high current flow136 through illumination source 160, which stimulates the emission of ameasurement pulse of illumination light 162.

FIG. 3 depicts an embodiment 140A of illumination driver IC 140. In afurther aspect, GaN based illumination driver IC 140A includes threeFETs 141, 143, and 144 integrated onto a common GaN based IC. Main FET141 controls the flow of current through illumination source 160 (e.g.,laser diode 160). But, two additional transistors, main charge FET 143and main discharge FET 144 control the gate voltage to main FET 141 toaccelerate the transitions and minimize power losses.

As depicted in FIG. 3, the drain of main charge FET 143 is coupled tovoltage node 137 of low voltage supply 131 depicted in FIG. 1. Thesource of main charge FET 143 is coupled to the drain of main dischargeFET 144 and to the gate of main FET 141. The source of main dischargeFET 144 is coupled to voltage node 136 of low voltage supply 131. Inaddition, a resistor is coupled between the gate of main FET 141 andvoltage node 136 of low voltage supply 131. A gate charge control signal145 is provided at the gate of main charge FET 143, and a gate dischargecontrol signal 146 is provided at the gate of main discharge FET 144. Inthis manner, gate charge control signal 145 and gate discharge controlsignal 144 determine the charge at the gate of main FET 141, and thusthe conductive state of main FET 141. In one example, the gate chargecontrol signal is the pulse trigger signal 151 and the gate dischargecontrol signal is the inverse of pulse trigger signal 151.

The embodiment 140A of illumination driver IC 140 depicted in FIG. 3includes a single main FET 141 that determines the current flow throughillumination source 160. In another aspect, illumination driver IC 140includes a number of different FETs configured to control the currentflow through illumination source 160. Moreover, the number of FETscoupled to the illumination source is programmable. This enables aprogrammable maximum current flow through illumination source 160, andthus a programmable maximum illumination pulse amplitude.

FIG. 4 depicts an embodiment 140B of illumination driver IC 140. Likenumbered elements are described with reference to FIG. 3. As depicted inFIG. 4, N groups of one or more FETs are coupled in parallel withillumination source 160, where N is any positive, integer number. Adrain of each main FET of each FET group 141A-141N is coupled to a nodeof illumination source 160. Similarly, a source of each main FET of eachFET group 141A-141N is coupled to node 121 of power voltage supply 133.The gates of each main FET of each FET group 141A-141N are selectivelycoupled to the source of main charge FET 143 and the drain of maindischarge FET 144. Whether each main FET of a particular group of FETsis electrically coupled to the source of main charge FET 143 and thedrain of main discharge FET 144 is determined by the state of selectionsignal, SEL, 154 received from receiver IC 150. In the example depictedin FIG. 4, SEL is an N-bit word. Each bit corresponds with a particularmain FET group. If a particular bit is in a high state, each main FETassociated with the corresponding main FET group is coupled to thesource of main charge FET 143 and the drain of main discharge FET 144.In this state, gate charge control signal 145 and gate discharge controlsignal 144 determine the charge at the gate of each main FET of thecorresponding main FET group. In this manner, the state of each bit ofthe N-bit word determines which main FET groups will participate inpulse generation by illumination source 160.

Receiver IC 150 determines which FET groups should participate in thenext measurement pulse by generating and communicating the SEL signal toillumination driver IC 140. In some examples, the determination is basedon the return signal received from the prior measurement pulse. Forexample, if the received return signal is saturated, receiver IC 150generates and communicates a selection signal, SEL, to illuminationdriver 140 with a larger number of zero valued bits to reduce the numberof participating main FET groups. In this manner, the number of photonsemitted in the next illumination pulse is reduced.

In some embodiments, the number of FETS in each main FET group isdifferent. In this manner, different combinations of FET groups can beactivated to achieve a wide range of participating FETs with uniformresolution.

FIG. 5 depicts one embodiment 140C of a portion of illumination driverIC 140. As depicted in FIG. 5, illumination driver IC 140C includes apower save control module 210, a pulse initiation signal generator 220,and a pulse termination signal generator 230.

In another aspect, illumination driver IC 140 includes a power savecontrol module that modulates the power supplied to a portion of thecircuitry of illumination driver IC 140 to reduce power consumption. Inoperation, the illumination driver IC 140 spends a relatively shortamount of time generating a measurement pulse and a relatively longamount of time waiting for a trigger signal to generate the nextmeasurement pulse. During these idle periods, it is desireable to reduceor eliminate power supplied to circuit components that do not need to beactive for the entire waiting period. As depicted in FIG. 5, power savecontrol module 210 is coupled between voltage nodes VDD_(MV) and VSS ofsignal voltage supply 132 depicted in FIG. 1. In addition, power savecontrol module 210 receives pulse trigger signal 151 from receiver IC150 and, in response, generates a regulated voltage, V_(reg), that issupplied to various portion of illumination driver IC 140. For example,V_(reg) is provided to the main FET groups 141A-N depicted in FIG. 4,pulse amplitude control circuit 250 depicted in FIG. 9, and pulsetermination signal generator 230 depicted in FIG. 5.

FIG. 6 depicts an embodiment 210A of power save control module 210.Power save control module 210A includes a resistor 214. Pulse triggersignal 151 is provided on a first node of resistor 214. A second node ofresistor 214 is coupled to a first node of capacitor 215. The other nodeof capacitor 215 is coupled to node 138 of signal voltage supply 132depicted in FIG. 1. Power save control module 210A also includes a FET213 having a source coupled to node 138 of signal voltage supply 132, agate coupled to the second node of resistor 214, and a drain coupled tothat gate of FET 211. The drain of FET 211 is coupled to a node 139 ofsignal voltage supply 132, and the regulated voltage, V_(reg), isprovided at the source of FET 211. Resistor 214 and capacitor 215 createan RC network that introduces a delay at the gate of FET 213. Thisintroduces a delay (T_(D-SLEEP) depicted in FIG. 10) between the risingedge of V_(TRG) and the time when V_(REG) drops to VSS during sleepmode.

FIG. 10 depicts a simplified illustration of the changes in theregulated voltage, V_(REG), generated by the power save control module210 in response to the pulse trigger signal, V_(TRG). As depicted inFIG. 10, at the rising edge of the pulse trigger signal, the regulatedvoltage remains high for a period of time, T_(D-SLEEP). This length oftime is determined by the values of resistor 214 and capacitor 215.After this period of time, the V_(REG) drops quickly. At the fallingedge of VTRG, the regulated voltage remains low for a period of time andthen ramps up to a relatively high voltage value, so that theillumination driver IC 140 is ready to generate a measurement pulse inresponse to the subsequent rising edge of V_(TRG).

In another aspect, illumination driver IC 140 includes a pulseinitiation signal generator 220 that generates a pulse initiationsignal, V_(init), to a portion of the GaN based illumination driver ICbased on the pulse trigger signal. In addition, illumination driver IC140 includes a pulse termination signal generator 230 that generates apulse termination signal, V_(term), to a portion of the GaN basedillumination driver IC based on the pulse initiation signal. Together,the pulse initiation signals and the pulse termination signals directlydetermine the timing of the pulse generated by illumination driver IC140. In other words, in some embodiments, rather than having the pulsetrigger signal 151 directly determine the timing of the pulse generatedby illumination driver IC 140, the pulse trigger signal 151 is employedto trigger the generation of the pulse initiation signal. The pulseinitiation signal, in turn, directly initiates the pulse generation, andalso initiates the generation of the pulse termination signal. The pulsetermination signal, in turn, directly terminates the pulse generation.

FIG. 7 depicts an embodiment 220A of pulse initiation signal generator220. Pulse initiation signal generator 220A includes a FET 222 and aresistor 223. Pulse trigger signal 151 is provided on the gate of FET222. The source of FET 222 is coupled to node 138 of signal voltagesupply 132 depicted in FIG. 1. A first node of resistor 223 is coupledto node 139 of signal voltage supply 132 and a second node of resistor223 is coupled to the drain of FET 222. Pulse initiation signal 221 isprovided at the drain of FET 222.

FIG. 10 depicts a simplified illustration of the changes in the pulseinitiation signal, V_(INIT), generated by the pulse initiation signalgenerator 220 in response to the pulse trigger signal, V_(TRG). Asdepicted in FIG. 10, at the rising edge of the pulse trigger signal,V_(INIT), drops to a low voltage value, VSS, very quickly. At thefalling edge of V_(TRG), V_(INIT) ramps up to the value of VDD_(MV), sothat the illumination driver IC 140 is ready to generate a pulseinitiation signal in response to the subsequent rising edge of V_(TRG).

In another aspect, pulse termination signal generator 230 is configuredto generate a pulse of programmable duration based on a value of ananalog input signal. As depicted in FIG. 1, receiver IC 150 generates ananalog pulse width control signal, V_(PWC) 152, and communicates V_(PWC)to illumination driver IC 140. In response, illumination driver IC 140changes the pulse duration based on the received value of V_(PWC). Inthe embodiment depicted in FIG. 5, pulse termination signal generator230 receives, V_(PWC) and V_(INIT) and generates a pulse terminationsignal, V_(TERM), having a delay from V_(INIT) programmed in accordancewith a value of V_(PWC).

FIG. 8 depicts an embodiment 230A of pulse termination signal generator230. Pulse termination signal generator 230 includes resistor 238 andFETs 236-237 configured as an operational amplifier. The output of theoperational amplifier is coupled to the gate of FET 243. The operationalamplifier receives V_(PWC) as input at the gate of FET 236. In addition,the operational amplifier receives an input voltage 249 at the gate ofFET 237. When the input voltage 249 exceeds the value of V_(PWC), thevalue of output voltage 248 switches transitions to a low value. Whenthe value of V_(PWC) exceeds the value of input voltage 249, the valueof output voltage 248 transitions to a high value. Input voltage 249 isthe voltage of the RC circuit formed by resistor 241 and capacitor 242.V_(INIT) is received at the gate of FET 240. When V_(INIT) transitionsto a low value (at the start of pulse), FET 240 effectively disconnectsthe RC circuit from VSS. This allows the RC circuit to begin to charge.FET 239 provides a nonzero starting voltage for the RC circuit. As thevoltage of the RC circuit rises, eventually it exceeds the value ofV_(PWC), thus triggering the transition of output node 248. Since thevoltage ramp rate of the RC circuit is constant, the delay until thetransition of output voltage 248 is determined in part by the value ofV_(PWC). The larger the value of V_(PWC), the longer the delay frompulse initiation before the generation of the termination signal,V_(TERM). In this manner, the value of V_(PWC) determines the pulseduration. Pulse termination signal generator 230 includes resistor 232and FETs 233-235 configured as a current source for the operationalamplifier structure. FETS 243 and 244 are configured to scale down thevalue of output voltage 248. Resistors 245 and 247 and FET 246 areconfigured to invert the scaled value of output voltage 248. The pulsetermination signal, V_(TERM), is provided at the drain of FET 246.

FIG. 10 depicts a simplified illustration of the changes in the pulsetermination signal, V_(TERM), generated by the pulse termination signalgenerator 230 in response to the pulse initiation signal, V_(INIT) andthe pulse width control signal, V_(PWC). As depicted in FIG. 10, whenV_(INIT) goes low, the voltage of the RC circuit begins to ramp up. Atthe point in time when the voltage of the RC circuit exceeds V_(PWC),V_(TERM) goes high, holds for a period of time and then ramps downagain. Note that the period of time, T_(D-PULSE) between pulseinitiation and the rising edge of V_(TERM) determines the relativeduration of the measurement pulse. At the falling edge of V_(TRG),V_(TERM) ramps down again so that the illumination driver IC 140 isready to generate a pulse termination signal for the subsequent pulse.As depicted, in FIG. 10, the gate voltage, V_(GATE), of main FET 141 isalso depicted.

In another aspect, pulse termination signal generator 230 is configuredto generate a pulse of programmable amplitude based on a value of ananalog input signal. As depicted in FIG. 1, receiver IC 150 generates ananalog amplitude control signal, V_(AMP) 153, and communicates V_(AMP)to illumination driver IC 140. In response, illumination driver IC 140changes the pulse amplitude based on the received value of V_(AMP).

In the embodiment 140C of portions of illumination driver IC 140depicted in FIG. 9, pulse amplitude control circuit 250 receives,V_(AMP), that controls the amplitude of the pulse generated byillumination source 160.

When V_(INIT) goes low (signaling the start of a measurement pulse), FET262 quickly releases the gate of main charge FET 143 from VSS, allowingmain charge FET 143 to quickly charge. Similarly, FET 263 quicklyreleases the gate of main FET 141 from VSS, allowing main FET 141 tocharge.

When V_(TERM) goes high (signaling the end of a measurement pulse), FET264 shorts the gate of charge FET 143 to VSS. Similarly, main dischargeFET 144 shorts the gate of main FET 141 to VSS as quickly as possible toshut off current flow through illumination source 160.

FET 260 and resistor 261 provide a quick turn-on of main discharge FET144 and discharge FET 264.

In addition, pulse amplitude control circuit 250 includes resistors 251and 254, capacitor 252, and FET 253. Pulse amplitude control signal,V_(AMP), is received on a first node of resistor 251. The second node ofresistor 251 is coupled to the gate of FET 253 and to a first node ofcapacitor 252. The drain of FET 253 is coupled to the regulated voltagesupply, VREG. The source of FET 253 is coupled to a first node ofresistor 254. The second node of resistor 254 is coupled to the secondnode of capacitor 252, which is coupled to the gate of main charge FET143. In this manner, the pulse amplitude control circuit 250 controlsthe charge at the gate of main charge FET 143.

As depicted in FIG. 9, the value of V_(AMP) controls the ramp rate ofthe pulse amplitude control circuit 250. As V_(AMP) increases, the rateof charge accumulation at the gate of FET 253 increases. In turn, thisincreases rate of charge accumulation on the gate of main charge FET143. This, in turn, increases the rate of charge accumulation on thegate of main FET 141, which accelerates the ramp rate of the resultingillumination pulse generated by illumination source 160. In this manner,V_(AMP), controls the peak amplitude of the illumination pulse for agiven pulse duration.

In another aspect, a master controller is configured to generate aplurality of pulse command signals, each communicated to a differentintegrated LIDAR measurement device. Each return pulse receiver ICgenerates a corresponding pulse trigger signal based on the receivedpulse command signal.

FIGS. 11-13 depict 3-D LIDAR systems that include multiple integratedLIDAR measurement devices. In some embodiments, a delay time is setbetween the firing of each integrated LIDAR measurement device. In someexamples, the delay time is greater than the time of flight of themeasurement pulse sequence to and from an object located at the maximumrange of the LIDAR device. In this manner, there is no cross-talk amongany of the integrated LIDAR measurement devices. In some other examples,a measurement pulse is emitted from one integrated LIDAR measurementdevice before a measurement pulse emitted from another integrated LIDARmeasurement device has had time to return to the LIDAR device. In theseembodiments, care is taken to ensure that there is sufficient spatialseparation between the areas of the surrounding environment interrogatedby each beam to avoid cross-talk.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrative of an embodiment of a 3-D LIDAR system100 in one exemplary operational scenario. 3-D LIDAR system 100 includesa lower housing 101 and an upper housing 102 that includes a domed shellelement 103 constructed from a material that is transparent to infraredlight (e.g., light having a wavelength within the spectral range of 700to 1,700 nanometers). In one example, domed shell element 103 istransparent to light having a wavelengths centered at 905 nanometers.

As depicted in FIG. 11, a plurality of beams of light 105 are emittedfrom 3-D LIDAR system 100 through domed shell element 103 over anangular range, α, measured from a central axis 104. In the embodimentdepicted in FIG. 11, each beam of light is projected onto a planedefined by the x and y axes at a plurality of different locations spacedapart from one another. For example, beam 106 is projected onto the xyplane at location 107.

In the embodiment depicted in FIG. 11, 3-D LIDAR system 100 isconfigured to scan each of the plurality of beams of light 105 aboutcentral axis 104. Each beam of light projected onto the xy plane tracesa circular pattern centered about the intersection point of the centralaxis 104 and the xy plane. For example, over time, beam 106 projectedonto the xy plane traces out a circular trajectory 108 centered aboutcentral axis 104.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrative of another embodiment of a 3-D LIDARsystem 10 in one exemplary operational scenario. 3-D LIDAR system 10includes a lower housing 11 and an upper housing 12 that includes acylindrical shell element 13 constructed from a material that istransparent to infrared light (e.g., light having a wavelength withinthe spectral range of 700 to 1,700 nanometers). In one example,cylindrical shell element 13 is transparent to light having awavelengths centered at 905 nanometers.

As depicted in FIG. 12, a plurality of beams of light 15 are emittedfrom 3-D LIDAR system 10 through cylindrical shell element 13 over anangular range, β. In the embodiment depicted in FIG. 12, the chief rayof each beam of light is illustrated. Each beam of light is projectedoutward into the surrounding environment in a plurality of differentdirections. For example, beam 16 is projected onto location 17 in thesurrounding environment. In some embodiments, each beam of light emittedfrom system 10 diverges slightly. In one example, a beam of lightemitted from system 10 illuminates a spot size of 20 centimeters indiameter at a distance of 100 meters from system 10. In this manner,each beam of illumination light is a cone of illumination light emittedfrom system 10.

In the embodiment depicted in FIG. 12, 3-D LIDAR system 10 is configuredto scan each of the plurality of beams of light 15 about central axis14. For purposes of illustration, beams of light 15 are illustrated inone angular orientation relative to a non-rotating coordinate frame of3-D LIDAR system 10 and beams of light 15′ are illustrated in anotherangular orientation relative to the non-rotating coordinate frame. Asthe beams of light 15 rotate about central axis 14, each beam of lightprojected into the surrounding environment (e.g., each cone ofillumination light associated with each beam) illuminates a volume ofthe environment corresponding the cone shaped illumination beam as it isswept around central axis 14.

FIG. 13 depicts an exploded view of 3-D LIDAR system 100 in oneexemplary embodiment. 3-D LIDAR system 100 further includes a lightemission/collection engine 112 that rotates about central axis 104. Inthe embodiment depicted in FIG. 13, a central optical axis 117 of lightemission/collection engine 112 is tilted at an angle, θ, with respect tocentral axis 104. As depicted in FIG. 13, 3-D LIDAR system 100 includesa stationary electronics board 110 mounted in a fixed position withrespect to lower housing 101. Rotating electronics board 111 is disposedabove stationary electronics board 110 and is configured to rotate withrespect to stationary electronics board 110 at a predeterminedrotational velocity (e.g., more than 200 revolutions per minute).Electrical power signals and electronic signals are communicated betweenstationary electronics board 110 and rotating electronics board 111 overone or more transformer, capacitive, or optical elements, resulting in acontactless transmission of these signals. Light emission/collectionengine 112 is fixedly positioned with respect to the rotatingelectronics board 111, and thus rotates about central axis 104 at thepredetermined angular velocity, ω.

As depicted in FIG. 13, light emission/collection engine 112 includes anarray of integrated LIDAR measurement devices 113. In one aspect, eachintegrated LIDAR measurement device includes a light emitting element, alight detecting element, and associated control and signal conditioningelectronics integrated onto a common substrate (e.g., printed circuitboard or other electrical circuit board).

Light emitted from each integrated LIDAR measurement device passesthrough a series of optical elements 116 that collimate the emittedlight to generate a beam of illumination light projected from the 3-DLIDAR system into the environment. In this manner, an array of beams oflight 105, each emitted from a different LIDAR measurement device areemitted from 3-D LIDAR system 100 as depicted in FIG. 11. In general,any number of LIDAR measurement devices can be arranged tosimultaneously emit any number of light beams from 3-D LIDAR system 100.Light reflected from an object in the environment due to itsillumination by a particular LIDAR measurement device is collected byoptical elements 116. The collected light passes through opticalelements 116 where it is focused onto the detecting element of the same,particular LIDAR measurement device. In this manner, collected lightassociated with the illumination of different portions of theenvironment by illumination generated by different LIDAR measurementdevices is separately focused onto the detector of each correspondingLIDAR measurement device.

FIG. 14 depicts a view of optical elements 116 in greater detail. Asdepicted in FIG. 14, optical elements 116 include four lens elements116A-D arranged to focus collected light 118 onto each detector of thearray of integrated LIDAR measurement devices 113. In the embodimentdepicted in FIG. 14, light passing through optics 116 is reflected frommirror 124 and is directed onto each detector of the array of integratedLIDAR measurement devices 113. In some embodiments, one or more of theoptical elements 116 is constructed from one or more materials thatabsorb light outside of a predetermined wavelength range. Thepredetermined wavelength range includes the wavelengths of light emittedby the array of integrated LIDAR measurement devices 113. In oneexample, one or more of the lens elements are constructed from a plasticmaterial that includes a colorant additive to absorb light havingwavelengths less than infrared light generated by each of the array ofintegrated LIDAR measurement devices 113. In one example, the colorantis Epolight 7276A available from Aako BV (The Netherlands). In general,any number of different colorants can be added to any of the plasticlens elements of optics 116 to filter out undesired spectra.

FIG. 15 depicts a cutaway view of optics 116 to illustrate the shapingof each beam of collected light 118.

In this manner, a LIDAR system, such as 3-D LIDAR system 10 depicted inFIG. 2, and system 100, depicted in FIG. 11, includes a plurality ofintegrated LIDAR measurement devices each emitting a pulsed beam ofillumination light from the LIDAR device into the surroundingenvironment and measuring return light reflected from objects in thesurrounding environment.

In some embodiments, such as the embodiments described with reference toFIG. 11 and FIG. 12, an array of integrated LIDAR measurement devices ismounted to a rotating frame of the LIDAR device. This rotating framerotates with respect to a base frame of the LIDAR device. However, ingeneral, an array of integrated LIDAR measurement devices may be movablein any suitable manner (e.g., gimbal, pan/tilt, etc.) or fixed withrespect to a base frame of the LIDAR device.

In some other embodiments, each integrated LIDAR measurement deviceincludes a beam directing element (e.g., a scanning mirror, MEMS mirroretc.) that scans the illumination beam generated by the integrated LIDARmeasurement device.

In some other embodiments, two or more integrated LIDAR measurementdevices each emit a beam of illumination light toward a scanning mirrordevice (e.g., MEMS mirror) that reflects the beams into the surroundingenvironment in different directions.

In a further aspect, one or more integrated LIDAR measurement devicesare in optical communication with an optical phase modulation devicethat directs the illumination beam(s) generated by the one or moreintegrated LIDAR measurement devices in different directions. Theoptical phase modulation device is an active device that receives acontrol signal that causes the optical phase modulation device to changestate and thus change the direction of light diffracted from the opticalphase modulation device. In this manner, the illumination beam(s)generated by the one or more integrated LIDAR devices are scannedthrough a number of different orientations and effectively interrogatethe surrounding 3-D environment under measurement. The diffracted beamsprojected into the surrounding environment interact with objects in theenvironment. Each respective integrated LIDAR measurement devicemeasures the distance between the LIDAR measurement system and thedetected object based on return light collected from the object. Theoptical phase modulation device is disposed in the optical path betweenthe integrated LIDAR measurement device and an object under measurementin the surrounding environment. Thus, both illumination light andcorresponding return light pass through the optical phase modulationdevice.

FIG. 16 illustrates a flowchart of a method 300 suitable forimplementation by an integrated LIDAR measurement device as describedherein. In some embodiments, integrated LIDAR measurement device 130 isoperable in accordance with method 300 illustrated in FIG. 16. However,in general, the execution of method 300 is not limited to theembodiments of integrated LIDAR measurement device 130 described withreference to FIG. 1. These illustrations and corresponding explanationare provided by way of example as many other embodiments and operationalexamples may be contemplated.

In block 301, a pulse of electrical power is provided by a GalliumNitride (GaN) based illumination driver integrated circuit (IC) mountedto a printed circuit board in response to a pulse trigger signal.

In block 302, a measurement pulse of illumination light is emitted inresponse to the pulse of electrical power from an illumination sourcemounted to the printed circuit board.

In block 303, a return pulse of light is detected. The return pulse isan amount of the measurement pulse reflected from a location in asurrounding environment illuminated by the corresponding measurementpulse.

In block 304, a time of flight of the measurement pulse from the LIDARdevice to the measured location in the three dimensional environment andback to the LIDAR device is determined by return pulse receiver ICmounted to the printed circuit board based on the detected return pulseof light.

A computing system as described herein may include, but is not limitedto, a personal computer system, mainframe computer system, workstation,image computer, parallel processor, or any other device known in theart. In general, the term “computing system” may be broadly defined toencompass any device having one or more processors, which executeinstructions from a memory medium.

Program instructions implementing methods such as those described hereinmay be transmitted over a transmission medium such as a wire, cable, orwireless transmission link. Program instructions are stored in acomputer readable medium. Exemplary computer-readable media includeread-only memory, a random access memory, a magnetic or optical disk, ora magnetic tape.

In one or more exemplary embodiments, the functions described may beimplemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof.If implemented in software, the functions may be stored on ortransmitted over as one or more instructions or code on acomputer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes both computerstorage media and communication media including any medium thatfacilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. Astorage media may be any available media that can be accessed by ageneral purpose or special purpose computer. By way of example, and notlimitation, such computer-readable media can comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM,CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or othermagnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carryor store desired program code means in the form of instructions or datastructures and that can be accessed by a general-purpose orspecial-purpose computer, or a general-purpose or special-purposeprocessor. Also, any connection is properly termed a computer-readablemedium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website,server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable,twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologiessuch as infrared, radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiberoptic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such asinfrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of medium.Disk and disc, as used herein, includes compact disc (CD), laser disc,optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk and blu-ray discwhere disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproducedata optically with lasers. Combinations of the above should also beincluded within the scope of computer-readable media.

Although certain specific embodiments are described above forinstructional purposes, the teachings of this patent document havegeneral applicability and are not limited to the specific embodimentsdescribed above. Accordingly, various modifications, adaptations, andcombinations of various features of the described embodiments can bepracticed without departing from the scope of the invention as set forthin the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A 3-D LIDAR system comprising: a housingincluding: a lower housing; and an upper housing including a transparentportion transparent to a specific spectral range; the housing having thefollowing disposed within: a plurality of illumination sources, each ofsaid plurality of illumination sources mounted to a printed circuitboard, the plurality of illumination sources configured to emit beams oflight over an angular range a measured from a central axis through thetransparent portion; one or more electrical power sources mounted to oneor more printed circuit boards; a plurality of illumination drivers,each of said illumination drivers mounted to the printed circuit board,each illumination driver electrically coupled to an illumination sourceand an electrical power source via the printed circuit board, whereineach illumination driver is configured to selectively electricallycouple a relevant illumination source to an electrical power source inresponse to a pulse trigger signal, causing the illumination source toemit a measurement pulse of illumination light.
 2. An integrated 3-DLIDAR system comprising: a housing having a lower housing and an upperhousing, including a transparent portion transparent to a specificspectral range; a light emission/collection engine that rotates about acentral axis 104, wherein a central optical axis of the lightemission/collection engine is tilted at an angle, θ, with respect to thecentral axis; a stationary electronics board mounted in a fixed positionwith respect to the lower housing; a rotating electronics board disposedabove stationary electronics board and configured to rotate with respectto the stationary electronics board at a predetermined rotationalvelocity ω; wherein electrical power signals and electronic signals arecommunicated between the stationary electronics board and the rotatingelectronics board over one or more transformer, capacitive, or opticalelements, resulting in a contactless transmission of the electricalpower and electronic signals; and wherein light emission/collectionengine is fixedly positioned with respect to the rotating electronicsboard, and thus rotates about the central axis at the predeterminedangular velocity, ω.
 3. The integrated 3-D LIDAR system of claim 2, thelight emission/collection engine including an array of integrated LIDARmeasurement devices.
 4. The integrated 3-D LIDAR system of claim 3,wherein at least one integrated LIDAR measurement device includes alight emitting element, a light detecting element, and associatedcontrol and signal conditioning electronics integrated onto a commonsubstrate.
 5. The integrated 3-D LIDAR system of claim 3, wherein eachintegrated LIDAR measurement device includes a light emitting element, alight detecting element, and associated control and signal conditioningelectronics integrated onto a common substrate.
 6. The integrated 3-DLIDAR system of claim 5, wherein light emitted from each integratedLIDAR measurement device passes through a series of optical elementsthat collimate the emitted light to generate a beam of illuminationlight projected from the 3-D LIDAR system into the environment.
 7. Theintegrated 3-D LIDAR system of claim 6, the beam of illumination lightforming an array of beams of light, each beam emitted from a differentLIDAR measurement device.
 8. The integrated 3-D LIDAR system of claim 7,wherein two or more LIDAR measurement devices are arranged tosimultaneously emit any number of light beams and light reflected froman object in the environment due to the object's illumination by aparticular LIDAR measurement device is collected by one or more of theoptical elements
 116. 9. The integrated 3-D LIDAR system of claim 8,wherein the collected light passes through one or more optical elementswhere the collected light is focused onto the detecting element of acorresponding particular LIDAR measurement device, whereby collectedlight associated with illumination of different portions of theenvironment by illumination generated by different LIDAR measurementdevices is separately focused onto each detector of each correspondingLIDAR measurement device.
 10. The integrated 3-D LIDAR system of claim1, wherein the spectral range corresponds to a range within infraredlights.
 11. The integrated 3-D LIDAR system of claim 1, wherein thespectral range includes light having wavelengths centered at 905nanometers.
 12. The LIDAR system of claim 1, wherein the upper housingincludes a dome shell element.
 13. The LIDAR system of claim 1, whereinthe upper housing includes a cylindrical shell element.
 14. Anintegrated 3-D LIDAR system comprising: a lower housing; an upperhousing, including a transparent portion transparent to a specificspectral range; a light emission/collection engine that rotates about acentral axis, wherein a central optical axis of the lightemission/collection engine is tilted at an angle, θ, with respect to thecentral axis; a stationary electronics board mounted in a fixed positionwith respect to the lower housing; a rotating electronics board disposedabove stationary electronics board and configured to rotate with respectto the stationary electronics board at a predetermined rotationalvelocity ω; wherein electrical power signals and electronic signals arecommunicated between the stationary electronics board and the rotatingelectronics board over one or more transformer, capacitive, or opticalelements, resulting in a contactless transmission of the electricalpower and electronic signals; and wherein the light emission/collectionengine is fixedly positioned with respect to the rotating electronicsboard, and thus rotates about the central axis at the predeterminedangular velocity, ω; the light emission/collection engine including aplurality of integrated LIDAR measurement devices, each integrated LIDARmeasurement device including: an illumination source; a Gallium Nitride(GaN) based illumination driver integrated circuit (IC), theillumination driver IC electrically coupled to the illumination sourceand a first electrical power source, wherein the illumination driver ICis configured to selectively couple the illumination source and theelectrical power source in response to a pulse trigger signal, causingthe illumination source to emit a measurement pulse of illuminationlight; and a return pulse receiver IC, the return pulse receiverconfigured to determine a time of flight of the measurement pulse fromthe LIDAR device to a measured location in the three dimensionalenvironment and back to the LIDAR device, wherein the return pulsereceiver IC generates and communicates the pulse trigger signal to theGaN based illumination driver IC; and a master controller configured togenerate a plurality of pulse command signals, each communicated to adifferent integrated LIDAR measurement device of the plurality ofintegrated LIDAR measurement devices, wherein each return pulse receiverIC generates the corresponding pulse trigger signal based on thereceived pulse command signal.
 15. A method for operating a LIDAR systemwith upper and lower housings, comprising: rotating a lightemission/collection engine about a central axis, wherein a centraloptical axis of the light emission/collection engine is tilted at anangle, θ, with respect to the central axis; maintaining a stationaryelectronics board in a fixed position with respect to the lower housing;rotating a rotating electronics board disposed above the stationaryelectronics board with respect to the stationary electronics board at apredetermined rotational velocity ω; communicating electrical powersignals and electronic signals between the stationary electronics boardand the rotating electronics board over one or more transformer,capacitive, or optical elements, resulting in a contactless transmissionof the electrical power and electronic signals; and wherein the lightemission/collection engine is fixedly positioned with respect to therotating electronics board, and thus rotates about the central axis at apredetermined angular velocity, ω.
 16. A method comprising: forming ahousing having a lower housing and an upper housing, including atransparent portion transparent to a specific spectral range; forming astationary electronics board fixably mounted to the lower housing;forming a rotating electronics board disposed above the stationaryelectronics board and configured to rotate with respect to thestationary electronics board at a predetermined rotational velocity ω;forming a contactless transmission between the stationary electronicsboard and the rotating electronics board, wherein electrical powersignals and electronic signals are communicated between the stationaryelectronics board and the rotating electronics board; and forming alight emission/collection engine that rotates about a central axis ofthe housing, wherein a central optical axis of the lightemission/collection engine is tilted at an angle, θ, with respect to thecentral axis; fixing the light emission/collection engine fixedly to therotating electronics board, such that the light emission/collectionengine rotates about a central axis at a predetermined angular velocity,ω.
 17. The method of claim 16 wherein the contactless transmissionincludes a transformer.
 18. The method of claim 17 wherein thecontactless transmission includes a capacitive element.
 19. The methodof claim 16 wherein the contactless transmission includes an opticalelement.